Inormation, Society & Justice

Department o Applied Social Sciences, London Metropolitan Uniersity

Ladbroke louse, 62-66 lighbury Groe, London N5 2AD, United Kingdom
\ebsite: www.londonmet.ac.uk,isj

vforvatiov, ociet, ava ]v.tice, 1otvve 1 ^o. 2, ]vve 200: 21:2:1
^ 1:10 ;Ovtive); DO: 10.1,i.;.200.1211
An Appraisal o Library Serices Proision to
Prison Inmates in Nigeria

Clement O. Omagbemi
1

Abiodun O. Odunewu
2



Abstract

1his paper is an assessment o Library Serices proision to literate prison inmates in
South-\est Nigeria. 1he questionnaire method was adopted. Responses were
collated and analyzed. 1he study reealed that inmates hae a ariety o inormation
needs which are not adequately met. It noted that Library stocks in the prison
libraries are grossly inadequate and poorly managed. It was also reealed that the
collections are managed by sta without training in inormation management and
handling. It noted inadequate attention rom goernment and society. 1he study
recommends readership promotion campaign, organized library isits by library
association to prisons as well as proision o outreach serices to inmates by nearby
public libraries.


Introduction

Prisons are established coninements or the sae keeping o those legally interned or
awaiting trials. \hicheer is the case, except or those who are to be executed upon the
pronouncement o death penalty on them, prisons are expected to transorm and reorm the
interned towards the re-integration o the aected indiiduals into the larger society on
completion o their terms. lor prisons to achiee the objecties o reormation and
rehabilitation there is the need or training and re-training o inmates. 1raining and re-
training require exposing them to adequate and timely inormation.

Inormation is a major resource in human deelopment as access to it could improe their
knowledge. Iloeje ,2001, submits that inormation is the heart o the world`s deelopment.
le urther explains that increased access to timely, accurate, releant, reliable and current
inormation remains a signiicant precursor to technological innoations.

Libraries as major custodian o inormation, which hae been proessionally processed and
stored or retrieal should play positie roles in eery segment o society. Anaulu ,1998,
posits that the library is the engine room and power house where inormation is collected,
N e t w o r k i n g & r e s o u r c e s h a r i n g | 246

stored, processed, and retrieed or use. A library as a body o collected inormation brought
together or the purpose o knowledge dissemination and utilization should be a central
clinic or all ,Ibegwam 2003,. Prison as a reormatory institution and inmates being members
o the larger community should o right be exposed to inormation and knowledge or
educational and training purposes, person deelopment as well as study kits and do-it-
yoursel tools. 1hey are expected to be kept abreast o deelopment and news around the
globe to make them better indiiduals. 1his submission is corroborated by the Luropean
Prison Rule 82 as cited by Grimes ,2000,, eery institution ,prison, shall hae a library or
the use o all categories o prisoners, adequately stocked with a wide range o both
recreational and instructional books, and prisoners shall be encouraged to make use o it.
1his study thereore is a probe into the aailability or otherwise o inormation serices to
prison interns in Nigeria, using some prisons in the south-west as case studies.

Justification for the study

Prison inmates are members o the larger society whose moements are restricted. 1he
prison aside rom sering as a custodian or conicted people doubles as a reormatie and
rehabilitatie centre. Inormation, no doubt plays a ital role in the reormatie and
rehabilitatie process. 1his study is necessary because the indings will relect the kind o
attention the prison system in Nigeria enjoys rom the public and policy makers. It is
assumed the indings will either leae the policy makers ulilled or urther challenged, and
also bring about a general awareness o the inormation needs o the interned. Ultimately
library serices hae its challenges in iew o economic uncertainties in Nigeria. 1his study
may thereore be a wake-up call or increased social responsibility awareness on the part o
goernment and citizens in paying increased attention to prison inmate.

Objectives of the study

1o identiy the role o adequate inormation in reorming prisoners.

1o identiy the need or proessional dispensation o library serices to inmates.

1o identiy the adequacy or otherwise o library serices proision to prison inmates
in Nigeria, using the selected prisons as case studies.

1o probe into the prisoners perception o inormation or their reormation and
recreational actiities.

1o eacuate the eorts o the library association in the deelopment and growth o
prison libraries.

1o create a general awareness o the need or inmates to hae access to inormation.

Research Questions

1he study asked the ollowing questions.: who are the inmates do they hae inormation
247 I n o r m a t i o n , S o c i e t y & J u s t i c e

needs what role could inormation play in rehabilitating prison inmates are they library
serices or prison inmates in Nigeria are the arious stakeholders - libraries, library
associations, goernment, prison oicials - adequately aware o the role inormation could
play in reorming the internedb how adequate are the library serices ,i any, being currently
rendered to prison inmates in Nigeria.

Scope of the study

1his study is limited to some selected, but prominent prisons in the south-west region o the
country - Nigeria. 1he selected prisons are expected to be good samples, representatie o
other prisons in the country. 1hese prisons hae been in operation beore the independence
o Nigeria. lrom this iew point it is apparent they hae history behind them and they may
be good representaties o the past and the present. 1he selected prisons are located in
Ibadan, Oyo, Ijebu-Ode and Ilesha. 1he our towns, apart rom being major towns in the
south-west sered as proincial headquarters during the colonial days. 1he Ilesha prison was
actually one o the irst prisons in Nigeria thus making it one o the oldest in Nigeria.


Significance of the study

1his work is an attempt at ealuating inormation serices proision in Nigeria prison
libraries using the south-western area as a case study. It also attempts to probe into the
perceied impact o inormation on the reormation and recreation actiities o the
prisoners.

1he indings would thereore be beneicial to the country`s leadership, and particularly the
prison authorities, in the decision to proide the interned with adequate but censored
inormation or otherwise.

Literature Review

Prisons, like other segments o the uniersal community, desere unctional libraries or the
proision o inormation resources to prison inmates and prison oicials. Oketunji ,2005,
submits that libraries are built and maintained to proide inormation resources or a
speciic, deined community. As such, like academic libraries, school libraries et cetera, there
are prison libraries.

Adocacy or adequately maintained, accessible prison libraries hae been enjoying serious
attention worldwide. lor example, Curry, \ol, Boutilier and Chan ,2003, conducted a
nationwide surey o the libraries in Canada`s 51 minimum and maximum security ederal
correctional institutions. 1he surey reealed that the prison libraries were meeting
oenders` needs or recreational, cultural, educational and inormatie material. Can this be
said o prison libraries in Arica Our academic libraries lack enough und to make them
adequate inormation research centres, not to mention, serices to those conined. Canadian
prisoners, despite what looks like an excellent situation, still beliee that there was much
room or improement in unding or sta and collections. 1hey elt that their libraries were
underalued within the prison administration. ,Curry et al 2003,. In the United States on the
N e t w o r k i n g & r e s o u r c e s h a r i n g | 248

other hand, Shirley ,2003, ound out that standard library serices deliery in prison libraries
was being impeded by security concerns and limited budgets. I unds hae been noticed to
be the major challenge to prison libraries in the deeloped world, the case o the deeloping
countries should thereore be a concern as many o the deeloping countries lack the
inancial strength o the deeloped countries as well as the will. lence the need to conduct
such a surey in the deeloping countries is most desirable.

1he denial o inormation serices to prisoners ,especially to the permanently conined, can
be detrimental to the objecties o the prison. 1he major objectie o the prison to the
conicted is reormation. Akpe ,2004, supporting this claim, posits that the key element in
prison administration is to reorm and recoer the conicted rom a lie o crime to path o
rectitude. Daramola ,2004, supports Akpe`s submission when he submits that the main aim
o imprisonment is or the sae custody o those legally interned and the detection o the
cause o the anti-social behaiour that led to the incarceration with a iew to transorming
and reorming the interned. lrom the oregoing, it is obious that the prison seres the dual
role o custody o conicted prisoners, remand prisoners ,awaiting trials, and detainees, and
a reormatie institution.

loweer in Nigeria, the prison being characteristically a closed system receies little
attention rom the public and policy makers, and as an arm o the criminal justice system, the
prison deseres utmost attention ,NPS,DlID 2002,. 1his neglect has led to calls or seeral
initiaties by non-goernmental organizations ,NGO, to attract members o the public to
their social responsibilities to this special group o people.

In his opinion, Daramola ,2004, expresses the act that prison was established to exploit
dierse programmes such as adult and remedial education or inmates, skills and ocational
training, religious instruction, recreational and attitude change towards the achieement o
the inormation and rehabilitation o inmates, so as to acilitate their social integration into
the society ater jail terms. Daramola concludes that one should assert that these goals need
adequate proision and utilization o inormation. 1he library, i well deeloped, will
proide the inormation support needed or the achieement o the prison tasks. 1he use o
books and other print and non-print materials ,bibliotherapy, in the reormation o
indiiduals hae been ound useul in mental patients and prisoners ,Rubin 198,, as cited by
Jarjoura and Krumbolz ,1998,. Rubin actually deined bibliotherapy as a program o actiity
based on the interactie processes o the use o print and non-print materials, whether
imaginatie or inormational, acilitated by a librarian or other proessional to achiee insight
into normal deelopment or to eect changes in emotionally disturbed behaiour.

Dixen and 1horsen ,2001, opine that prison libraries proide an important means o sel-
improement or inmates. 1hey can act as a supplement to educational programs and can
lead to better work opportunities, which in turn creates more stable and productie citizens`.
1hey went urther to assert that many beliee that libraries are ital to the rehabilitation o
the prisoners helping them to strengthen character and lessening the rate o recidiism
,returning to prison,. One may then conclude that the library has a major role to play in the
reormation and rehabilitation o prison inmates.


249 I n o r m a t i o n , S o c i e t y & J u s t i c e


Research Methodology

1he populations or this study are the inmates o selected prisons in the south west o
Nigeria. In eliciting releant inormation, the questionnaire tool as well as obseration
method was employed. 1he questionnaires were administered with the assistance o the
prisons welare oicers who selected inmates that can read and write, and willing to respond
to the questionnaire. Seenty questionnaires were administered and at the point o analysis,
only sixty-two ,62, representing 88.5 were ound usable.

Results and Discussion

1able J: Prison Surveyed, Questionnaire distribution and usable returns.

Prisons No. o Questionnaire
Distributed
Usable Returns
NPS, Igbeba, Ijebu-Ode 15 ,21.4, 15 ,21.4,
NPS, Agodi, Ibadan 20 ,28.6, 18 ,25.,
NPS, Lagbondoko, Oyo 18 ,25., 14 ,20.0,
NPS, Oke Lso, Ilesa 1 ,24.3, 15 ,21.4,
1otal 0 ,100, 62 ,88.5,
NPS - Nigerian Prison Serices

1able 1 reeals the prison sureyed the number o questionnaire administered and the ones
usable or data analysis. 0 questionnaires were distributed and only sixty-two ,88.5, were
useul. 1hose not ound usable were or arious reasons, such as deacement, non-releance
o response as well as returning some blank. 1his research work did not concern itsel with
non-literate inmates as it is assumed that their inormation needs will be dierent. 1his could
be a subject or urther research.

1able 2: Age of Respondents

Age Range ,years, lrequency Percentage
Below 20 05 8.1
20 - 29 32 51.6
30 - 39 16 25.8
40 & aboe 09 14.5
1otal 62 100


1able 2 reeals that majority o the respondents all into the tender age o 20 - 29 years.
1his closely ollowed by the 30 - 39 years age range. 1his suggests that crime rate is higher
among these age grades. 1he reormatie and rehabilitation objecties o the prison is
assumed will be beneicial to those who all between the ages o 18 and 30, as they still hae
a uture i well reormed and rehabilitated.

N e t w o r k i n g & r e s o u r c e s h a r i n g | 2S0

1able 3: Lducational Background.

Qualiication lrequency Percentage
SSCL,\ASC 32 51.6
NCL,OND 18 29.0
lND,Bachelors 0 11.3
Others 05 8.1
1otal 62 100

1able 3 shows that majority o the respondents are holders o the Senior Secondary School
Certiicate. 1hey constitute 51.6 o the respondents, while NCL,OND holders ollow
with 29. ligher National Diploma,Bachelors Degree holders constitute 11.3 while 8.1
claimed they posses proessional certiicates. 1his table shows that the percentage o inmate
respondents decreases with higher leel o education. One may conclude that the leel o
education may hae to do with the leel o awareness o the ull weight o the law since
more than 50 o respondents are Senior School Certiicate holders.

1able 4: Category of Prisoners.

Category lrequency Percentage
Conicted Prisoners 24 38.
Remand Prisoners 38 61.3
Detainees - -
1otal 62 100

1able 4 reeals that majority o 61.3 o the respondents are inmates ,awaiting trial, while
38. were already conicted. lurther probing reeals that the high number o awaiting trial
prisoners was occasioned by the slow process o litigation in Nigeria. Some o the inmates
hae been in prison or more than twele ,12, calendar months.

1able S: Library use by inmates.

Usage lrequency Percentage
Oten 8 12.9
Sometimes 12 19.4
Sparingly 24 38.
Neer 18 29.0
1otal 62 100

1able 5 reeals that majority o the inmates 38. use the library sparingly, 29 do not use
it at all, while 19.4 and 12.9 use it sometimes and oten respectiely. 1he table reeals
that inmates do not consider using the library an issue o great importance. A lot o actors
such as poor collection, , see table 6, unconducie reading condition, attitude o the library
sta, as well as prison`s programme o actiity may be responsible.



2SJ I n o r m a t i o n , S o c i e t y & J u s t i c e





1able 6: Adequacy o Library Stock.

Leel lrequency Percentage
Adequate 6 13.6
lairly Adequate 16 36.4
Inadequate 22 50.0
1otal 44 100

In measuring the leel o adequacy, cognizance was taken o the respondents who claimed
to hae used the prison library at one time or the other. 59 o the respondents rated the
library stock as inadequate. 36.4 saw it as airly adequate, while only 13.6 rated it as
adequate. 1his reelation is at ariance with the expected leel o library serices in prisons.
Prison library should be an important means o sel-improement and reormation or
inmates. Many reports hae demonstrated that prisoners eel that library serice is aluable.
lor example, when one o the deadliest riots in penal history occurred in 1980, in Santa le,
New Mexico, the inmates destroyed most o the prison`s acilities but the library remained
untouched. ,Dixen & 1horsen 2001,. I prisoners alue good library serices, eorts should
be geared towards the improement o prison libraries stock.

1able 7: Importance of Information to Reformation and Rehabilitation of Prisoners.

Responses lrequency Percentage
Strongly Agree 10 16.1
Agree 34 54.8
Strongly Disagree . -
Disagree 06 9.
No Response 12 19.4
1otal 62 100

1able shows that majority o the respondents agree that inormation is important to the
objectie o the prison serices in rehabilitating and reorming them towards re-integration
into the society. A close look reeals that non-users o prison library serices either disagree
with the majority or reuse to respond.

1able 8, Prisoners Desired Information.

1ype o Inormation lrequency Percentage
News, Current Aairs 54 8.1
Legal Inormation 38 61.3
Religious Inormation 32 51.6
Psychological Inormation - -
Recreational Inormation 22 35.5
Vocational Inormation 10 16.1
N e t w o r k i n g & r e s o u r c e s h a r i n g | 2S2

Lducational Inormation 44 6.8

In eliciting inormation or table 8, respondents were allowed, i need be to choose more
than one option. lrom the table, it could be obsered that majority o the respondents
,8.1, desire inormation on the current eents in the society ,News,Current Aairs,,
6.8 want educational inormation while 61.3 want legal inormation. 51.6 desire
religious inormation, while 35.5 and 16.1 desire recreational and ocational inormation
respectiely. None o the respondents desire psychological inormation. 1his may be
attributed to the respondents` leel o education and probably area o specialization in the
case o those who had tertiary education. Psychology is an important subject in reormation
as there are people with abnormal psychology. Perhaps eorts should be made to expose
inmates to psychology and its importance through their acquisition.

Summary of findings

1he underlisted are the indings o this study into the adequate inormation proision in
prison libraries in Nigeria. 1he questionnaire and obseration method were the tools used in
assessing the situation in the prisons used as case study.


1. Majority o the respondents all into the 20 - 40 years age grade

2. Majority o them are Senior Secondary School Certiicate holders

3. Majority o the respondents are still awaiting trials

4. Majority o the respondents use the library sparingly

5. 1he prison libraries stock are inadequate

6. 1he prison libraries are managed by non librarians

. Suggestions and recommendations

Conclusion & Recommendations

(a) Library Associations' visit to Prison Libraries

1he National and arious bodies,organs o the Nigerian Library association ,NLA, should
as a matter o urgency commence library isits and career talks or the prisoners and the
warders. 1he NLA being a proessional inormation body should take its serices to the less
priileged like the prisons inmates. 1he inmates should be enlightened on the beneits o
inormation and the importance o using the library or sel deelopment and knowledge
acquisition. 1his is with the intention o deeloping the indiiduals towards re-integration
into the ree society. 1he warders,oicers will also beneit rom such isits, as they will be
enlightened on the beneits o library,inormation use, and they will also know the
2S3 I n o r m a t i o n , S o c i e t y & J u s t i c e

consequences o depriing the prisoners o inormation. Prison oicials should be
encouraged to obtain training in Librarianship.

(b) Outreach Services by Public Libraries.

1he Nigerian constitution recognizes citizens` entitlement to due process o law` i.e. rule o
law. loweer, in circumstances when inmates are unduly detained due to aoidable slow
litigation process such inmates are wrongly denied their rights and reedom. Apart rom legal
inormation, prisoners desere other deelopmental inormation to ensure their readiness or
re-absorption into the community. Public libraries should create outreach programme or the
prisoners within their coered area. Librarians in charge o the outreach serices will need to
liaise with the prison oicials and amiliarize themseles with the prisons operations, so that
they will not go beyond their legal` bounds in the proision o this serice. In deeloped
countries, such librarians do download inormation or inmates use 1horson and Dixen
,2001,.

(c) Provision of Adequate 1raining Library Personnel.

1he study ound that the prison libraries are managed by prison oicials who are not trained
librarians. Librarianship, whether academic, public or prison is a proession and as such
requires expertise in its operations. It is thereore recommended that prison libraries should
be managed by proessionals or prison oicers who would hae gone through training in
librarianship.

(d) 1oward improved collections.

1he library association should positiely impact better unding o prison libraries by
soliciting or the inclusion o library deelopment in the prison`s annual budget. 1his will
enhance the desired improement in the collection.

Collections are deeloped by purchase, gits and donations. Prison libraries should exploit
the gits and donations opportunity by soliciting or gits and donations rom philanthropic
organizations and indiiduals, as well as libraries and inormation centres that weed their
collections requently.

(e) Readership Promotion Campaign

1he library association and the public libraries should engage in readership promotion
campaigns in prisons. 1he majority o the respondents are school certiicate holders and as
such are products o schools with inadequate library collections or without a library or
reading room. Adetoro ,2005, conirmed this when he submits that the problem acing
school libraries include inadequate acilities and equipment, inadequate and outdated
materials, poor unding and poor accommodation. It is expected that readership promotions
will arouse positie reading habits in the prisoners. Special programmes like story reading,
radio and teleision hours, literacy training should be proided or non-literate interns.
Lorts can as well be directed at identiying interns who hae age and ability on their side to
get educated, and adequate arrangements put in place to educate them.
N e t w o r k i n g & r e s o u r c e s h a r i n g | 2S4

References

Adetoro, Niran ,2005, A comparatie analysis o school libraries deelopment and use in
selected public and priate secondary schools in Ijebu and Remo Geo-Political zones o
Ogun State` ago. ]ovrvat of ibrar, ava vforvatiov cievce Vol. 3 ,1,: pp. -15.

Akpe, A. I. ,2004, Vision and mission o the Nigerian Prisons Serice` Abuja, British
Council,DlID 8p.

Anaulu, J. C ,1998, lunding o Uniersity and Research Libraries in Nigeria. Policy
Directions and options or the next century` Research project or the award o member o
NIPSS, Kuru 90 pp.

Daramola, V. A. O. ,2004, the administration o relie materials in prisons` a paper
presented at the workshop or social pastoral workers in the prison by JDPC, Ibadan.

Dixen, Rebecca & 1horson, Stephame ,2001, low librarians sere people in prison`
Covvter. iv ibrarie. Vol. 21 ,9, p. 48-53.

Grimes, Jonathan ,2000, Rehabilitatioal ersus recreational principles in prison libraries` a
Masters 1hesis submitted to the Uniersity o Northumbra, Newcastle.

Ibegwam, A. ,2003, Nigerian Medical Libraries in a Digital Age` ago. ]ovrvat of ibrar, ava
vforvatiov cievce 1 ,2,: pp. 129-135.

Iloeje, M. U. ,2001, Libraries and Librarians: making a dierence in the knowledge Age` in
a compendium o papers presented at the 39th National Conerence and AGM o the NLA:
Owerri, NLA pg. 22-26.

Jarjoura, R.G., & Krumholz, S.1. ,1998, Combining bibliotherapy and positie role
modeling as an alternatie to incarceration` ]ovrvat of Offevaer Rebabititatiov. 28 ,1,2,: pp. 12-
139

NPS,DlID ,2002, State o prisons in Nigeria: 1st Nigerian Association Prisons Serice -
Ciil Society Dialogue` .ctiov Ptav Docvvevt for ^igeriav Pri.ov errice Abuja, British
Council,DlID 29p.

Oketunji, I ,2005, Reerence serices: its unctions and importance in libraries and
inormation centres` in a compendium o papers presented at the 2005 National Interactie
Seminar, 20th-28th April.

Shirley, G. L. ,2003, Correctional libraries, library standards and diersity.
]ovrvat of Correctiovat avcatiov, Jun. Accessed electronically on 8
th
August, 2006.

1
Bells Uniersity o 1echnology, Ota, Nigeria Lmail: omaoma0yahoo.com
2
Olabisi Onabanjo Uniersity, Ago-Iwoye, Nigeria. Lmail: bodunewuyahoo.com